First Airplane Ride!

This weekend we attempted to conquer one of our greatest parenting fears--taking a baby on a plane. As business travelers who have spent a fair amount of time in airports, we definitely had ideas about how we wanted to try to manage the process as best we could. However, we do not always agree on our strategies. For example, I am a big fan of paying the few extra dollars to use the skycap service for curbside check-in rather than lugging three suitcases and a stroller through the long lines at the counter, but (not shockingly, for those who know Joe) my husband sees this as a waste of money. Anyway, we managed to make our way to the plane, and AJ did a great job as a passenger. As the Paula Abdul of our home judging system (minus her weird behavior) I gave AJ an A+ for making it through without a meltdown. Joe is a tougher grader and gave him an A-, docking AJ for not napping on the plane. We both agreed that it was a relative success and are even talking about attempting a plane ride again in the near future to go to Miami with Joe on a business trip.

Smile!

A couple of weeks ago, AJ smiled at me for the first time. I called Joe at work to tell him that my job satisfaction as a mom had just increased 110%. AJ smiled three times in a row that morning and then gave us nothing for the next week. In the past week to 10 days, however, he has started smiling a lot and smiles at more people. Despite lots of trying, I can't seem to capture on camera the exact moment when AJ smiles. I tend to either get the big open mouth that he does right before smiling or the lame little half-grin that is left after the smile fades. AJ's Aunt Annie was able to get a good picture of his real smile, and I will post that one as soon as I get it from her.

Daddy's First Bath (7-18-07)

Last night Joe gave AJ a bath for the first time. We have been trying to figure out ways for Joe to feel more involved with AJ, since he goes to work in the morning before AJ and I get up and often has to work late or travel out of town. It has been frustrating for Joe, because AJ is usually in his fussy stage during the hour or two that Joe gets to see him every day, and I hate that Joe misses out on all the great moments when AJ is so happy. So we decided to try to have bath time in the evening, rather than in the morning, because AJ loves his bath. It was great to see the two of them together having fun last night. It is true that dads do things different than moms. For example, Joe likes to shake AJ upside-down when he is fussy and tell him he is shaking all of AJ's lunch money out. With the bath, while I am very careful not to get any water near AJ's face because it might upset him, Joe started a "water fight" with AJ in the tub last night by spraying him with the vegetable sprayer from the kitchen sink. Water definitely got on his face. But they had a great time!

Iowa Visit

This week we made the first of what are sure to be many trips to Iowa to visit my family. This visit was also special because it was the first time that AJ met his great-grandparents on my side, my Grandma and Grandpa Leniton, and it was our chance for AJ to meet his Aunt Nicki and Uncle Brett before they move to Santiago, Chile on July 7th to teach at an international school for two years. We are so excited for them!

The highlights of the trip were Great-Grandpa Leniton's first diaper change EVER (after four kids and eight grandkids), asking my grandma for parenting advice, having our four-generation family picture taken, and seeing my mom, Grandma Julie, with AJ again. I especially love hearing her sing to him. Joe's family recently had all of their old home videos converted to DVD, and my mom was commenting that she was so sad that our family didn't make any home movies when my siblings and I were little. Seeing my mom with a baby recreated some of what that must have been like for us.

First Stroller Ride

AJ's Chicago Grandma came over today to help me take him out for his first stroller ride. We didn't make it far, but it felt great to get out of the apartment. We went around the block to the local neighborhood pool and watched the big kids playing in the water for a while. We promised AJ that he could try out the pool next summer. He didn't seem that concerned on missing out on the fun this year. I have to admit that after a week and a half of taking care of a newborn, it was inspiring to see that kids do grow up and become relatively autonomous.

The other day I was watching out the window as a mother and her one-year old son exited their car in the parking lot across the street. It looked like they were running errands, and I was completely absorbed watching the ease with which she was able to scoop him out of his car seat, hoist him onto her hip, grab the diaper bag and cruise off to wherever they were going without a second thought. The few times we have left the apartment so far have felt like a space shuttle launch because we have so much gear and require a large crew and a checklist to get everything in sync. I am looking forward to the day when we will be able to run to the dry cleaners without a second thought.

Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day with Joe and his family with a cookout in the Liss family backyard. This was the perfect inaugural Father's Day for Joe, because he often spent Father's Day as a kid doing cookouts in the backyard, so it was all very nostalgic. It was neat to see the three generations of Liss males together, and I snapped a photo to commemorate the day (see attached).

Joe is the kind of guy who does not like extravagant presents that require spending more than $20, so AJ and I went in on a Bob Marley lullabye CD for daddy. Joe was initally pretty pumped about it since he listened to a lot of Bob Marley in high school and college, but our amateur critic's review after one song was that Bob Marley would not be proud to have his name associated with the watered-down elevator music that was on the CD. It definitely involves a xylophone. We should have gone with the traditional socks-and-undershirts present or a tie...